Eight hundred workers at a Walmart distribution center in Mississauga, Ontario, succeeded where others have not: they are now working under a two-year contract with North America’s largest logistics giant. The landmark collective bargaining agreement went into effect on July 1, nearly two years after workers won union representation, joining Unifor Local 252, motivated by low wages and unsafe working conditions. As punishment two years ago, Walmart bumped the pay of every logistics worker in Canada—except those who unionized. This was an effective maneuver to halt further union drives.
    • pedz@lemmy.ca
      0·
      5 days ago

      The Saint-Hyacinthe and Gatineau stores also got both unionized for a few months before quietly being decertified.

      At the Saint-Hyacinthe Walmart, 200 employees had organized successfully in January 2005. Contract negotiations stalled and an arbitrator was called in, reaching a two-year deal on April 9, 2009. In 2011, the Saint-Hyacinthe Walmart employees voted (147 out of 250) to decertify UFCW as their representative union; employees believed that the 2009 contract was tilted strongly in favour of their employer.

      Walmart employees in Gatineau joined the UFCW in 2008. This was followed by two years of stalled negotiations before an arbitrator imposed a collective agreement. In November 2011, after one year with their collective agreement, the 150 Wal-Mart employees voted to decertify.

      I was living in Saint-Hyacinthe at that time and as it was one of their most profitable store, we were waiting to see what other excuse they would use. But they didn’t say anything. They quietly fought the union in the background, and it was dissolved after a few months anyway. We’ll see if this one lasts more than 24 months.